Seine

15 Stories

Seine's Water Quality Again Postpones Competitions

Decision follows heavy rain in Paris over two days

(Newser) - Paralympic triathlon competitions in Paris scheduled for Sunday have been postponed because of concerns about water quality in the Seine River after heavy rainfall, organizers said. The 11 para triathlon events are now scheduled for Monday, if upcoming water testing allows, the Paris 2024 organizing committee and World Triathlon said...

Illness Hits Two Teams After Competitions in Seine

Belgium pulls out of event, and Switzerland replaces triathlon swimmer

(Newser) - Belgium's Olympic committee announced Sunday that it would withdraw its team from the mixed relay triathlon at the Paris Olympics after one of its competitors who swam in the Seine River fell ill. Claire Michel, who competed in the women's triathlon on Wednesday, "is unfortunately ill and...

Seine Problems Get Olympic Event Postponed
The Seine Finally
Cleans Up Its Act
UPDATED

The Seine Finally Cleans Up Its Act

Men's, women's triathlons will be held Wednesday

(Newser) - After days of delays and uncertainty over water quality in the Seine River, the women's and men's Olympic triathlon races will go forward Wednesday with a swim in the famed Paris waterway, the AP reports. The organizers said early Wednesday the latest tests of the water showed compliance...

The Olympics' Seine Problem Hasn't Abated

Triathlon training canceled a second day over water quality concerns

(Newser) - Concerns about the water quality in the Seine River led officials to call off the swimming portion of an Olympic triathlon training session for a second straight day Monday. Organizers overseeing the event at the Paris Games are optimistic that triathletes will be able to swim in the city's...

Concerns About Seine Resurface, Cancel Practice

After water quality tests, triathletes skip swim

(Newser) - The swimming portion of a practice run for the Olympic triathlon was canceled Sunday because of concerns about water quality in the Seine River, but Paris officials said they're confident that triathletes will be able to swim in the famed waterway this week. The men's triathlon is scheduled...

This Isn't a Mistake on Korea You Want to Make at Olympics

Games organizers apologize after introducing South Korean team as North Korea's competitors

(Newser) - Olympic Games organizers said they "deeply apologize" for introducing South Korea's athletes as North Korea during the opening ceremony in Paris. As the South Korean athletes waved their nation's flag on a boat floating down the Seine on Friday evening, they were announced in both French and...

See How Clean? Paris Mayor Swims the Seine

Anne Hidalgo fulfills promise to swim the river to show that it's clean enough for Olympic events

(Newser) - After months of anticipation, Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo took a dip in the long-polluted Seine River on Wednesday, fulfilling a promise to show the river is clean enough to host open swimming competitions during the 2024 Olympics—and the opening ceremony on the river nine days away. Clad in a...

With Olympic Water Sports Looming, Bad News on Seine

River in Paris has levels of E. coli bacteria that are beyond limits determined to be safe for humans

(Newser) - Water in the Seine had unsafe elevated levels of E. coli less than two months before swimming competitions are scheduled to take place in it during the Paris Olympics, according to test results published Friday. Contamination levels in the first eight days of June, after persistent heavy rain in Paris,...

France Readies a Plan B for Olympic Ceremony

Amid heightened security concerns, opening of Paris Games may be moved

(Newser) - French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday said the opening ceremony for the Paris Olympics planned on the River Seine could be shifted instead to the country's national stadium if the security threat is deemed too high. France is on a high security alert ahead of the Paris Olympics and...

The Seine Was Taboo for a Century. Now, Swimmers Rejoice

Paris to allow public to swim in river starting in 2025, more than 100 years after ban was instituted

(Newser) - When Georges Seurat painted Bathers at Asnieres in 1884, his scene of people frolicking in the Seine was one that reflected real life, as the French back then were permitted to swim in the river. Bathing in the Seine was banned less than 30 years after that, though "rogue"...

'Unprecedented' Rescue of Stranded Whale Is Too Late

Beluga taken out of Seine to be transported back to chillier waters dies

(Newser) - A beluga whale stranded in the Seine, far from the colder waters where it belongs, has died during an attempted rescue, reports CNN . The first part of a multistage relocation operation took place early Wednesday, with the 13-foot-long, 1,800-pound marine mammal lifted out of the waters in northern France...

In the Seine, a Whale Far From Home
Whale Is Stranded in the Seine

Whale Is Stranded in the Seine

Officials are now trying to save the beluga in France, far from its usual home in chillier waters

(Newser) - A beluga whale is stranded far from home, and now French officials are trying to figure out how to get it to safety. The BBC reports that the skinny-looking whale is right now floating near Vernon, 45 miles or so northwest of Paris and way south of the chilly Arctic...

Guy Crushes High Wire From Eiffel Tower Across the Seine

Nathan Paulin walked nearly 2,000 feet on slackline more than 225 feet above the ground

(Newser) - When Nathan Paulin was a kid, he had a fear of heights. He's apparently gotten over that, since he spent part of the weekend traversing a high wire from the Eiffel Tower across the Seine. Reuters reports that the 27-year-old acrobat practiced for four years to make the nearly...

It's Raining So Much in Paris the Louvre Is Closed

Rising waters in France, Germany, and Belgium have already led to at least 6 deaths

(Newser) - The Louvre and the Musee d'Orsay closed their doors to the public Thursday as the Seine crept up past its normal water levels, prompting fears of flooding and peril to famous works in both Paris art institutions, the Independent reports. Local cops say that flood warnings for areas along...

Runaway Military Horse Hoofs It to Seine

Decided to make a break for the stable

(Newser) - A 15-year-old Paris military horse was feeling his oats, threw his rider and tried to hot-hoof it back to his stable, reports the BBC. The horse, who had been on duty at the presidential palace, clattered full gallop along the Seine with police in pursuit, stunning pedestrians and causing drivers...

15 Stories